A-G’s report: Corrupt officers haven’t been punished enough; we need to make graft unattractive – Azeem
Former Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Mr Vitus Azeem has said corruption needs to be made very unattractive in Ghana through severe punishments meted out to culprits.
In his view, corrupt officers in Ghana have not been punished enough to deter others from engaging in the practice.
Contributing to a discussion on the 2021 Auditor-General’s report, on 3FM’s Sunrise show with Alfred Ocansey Thursday September 1, Mr Azeem said “You have to make corruption very unattractive. If somebody flouts the law, a demotion or transfer that will deter them is recommended but what do we see? We are just singing and not fighting it.”
The 2021 report among other things uncovered a missing vehicle at the Koforidua branch of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The report asked the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr. Joseph Whittal, to ensure that the Eastern Regional Director, Mr. Stephen Okpoti Mensah pays for the cost of the vehicle.
The report referred to section 52 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) which states that a principal Spending Officer of a covered entity, state owned enterprise or
public corporation shall be responsible for the assets of the institution under the care of the Principal Spending Officer and shall ensure that proper control system exist for custody and management of the assets.
“Our inspection of assets and subsequent interview with the Regional Director of the Commission indicated that an official vehicle with registration number GC 7923-12 which was parked at the Regional Director’s residence (SSNIT Flat Estate) was stolen in March 2019 when he had travelled out of the Country.
“The matter had since been reported to the Police. We recommended that the Commissioner of CHRAJ should ensure that the Regional Director (Mr. Stephen Okpoti Mensah) pay for the cost of the vehicle.”
source: 3news
